4 Fairfield Fill Pile Scandal Defendants Denied Probation

BRIDGEPORT, CT — Four defendants in the Fairfield fill pile case were denied the special probationary program called accelerated rehabilitation by a judge who said the charges the four face are too serious.

During a four-hour hearing in Bridgeport Superior Court on Monday, Judge Kevin Russo said that he partially based his decision on the fact that nine local, state and federal agencies are investigating the case, and Fairfield has faced millions of dollars worth of remediation costs.

And the town is on the hook for millions more in expenses to clean up the contaminated soil and materials illegally dumped throughout Fairfield.

The four who were denied the program are:

• Former Fairfield conservation director and interim head of public works Brian Carey
• Former Fairfield human resources director Emmet Hibson
• Former Fairfield public works superintendent Scott Bartlett
• Jason Julian, co-owner of Julian Enterprises

All four were in court Monday, as their attorneys argued unsuccessfully for them to be granted AR. Former Fairfield Chief Financial Officer Robert Mayer, who was denied the program once before, applied again for AR, but his request will be heard on Dec. 20.

In addition to rejecting the AR requests, Russo also told the four that he is ordering they stand trial before Judge Ndidi Moses, though a specific trial date has not been set.

Under accelerated rehabilitation, a nonviolent defendant is placed on probation for up to two years, and if they do not commit another crime during that time, the charges are dropped.

"I'm satisfied that these defendants will not offend again," Russo said, but that was not enough to overcome his concerns over the seriousness of the crimes for which they have been charged.

All have been charged with multiple felonies, such as larceny, forgery, bribery, conspiracy and illegal dumping of toxic materials.

Additionally, Russo said some of the defendants also were accused of knowingly forcing town employees to work cleaning up some of the fill pile sites without protective gear, potentially exposing them to carcinogens and hazardous materials that could jeopardize their health.

"That is a significant aggravating factor that makes these charges too serious for the benefits of the accelerated rehabilitation program," Russo said.

Carey was the only defendant to speak on his own behalf in court, telling Russo that he was "very embarrassed for myself and my family" that he has been charged in the case.

"I tried my best to do what was right at the time," Carey said. "I'm not blaming anyone else. I was overwhelmed and dropped the ball."

During Monday's hearing, Tracy Babbidge, an executive with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, testified at the request of prosecutors against the AR applications.

"The threat to human health is serious and ongoing," Babbidge said, adding that the fill pile case is one of the worst examples of contaminated waste disposal in state history.

Last week, another defendant, former Fairfield Public Works Director Joe Michelangelo, pleaded guilty to several charges in the case, and agreed to testify against the other defendants in a trial.

A seventh defendant, Robert J. Grabarek, who is an environmental contractor who was hired by the town, has not applied for accelerated rehabilitation.

Following Monday's hearing, Carey, Hibson, Bartlett and Julian huddled with their attorneys outside of court to discuss next steps.

"No comment," Bartlett told Patch.

Fairfield Town Attorney James Baldwin, who attended Monday's hearing, said he spoke to First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick immediately following the hearing, and she was "very grateful" for Russo's decision "on behalf of the town and its taxpayers."

"This the beginning of the end of this chapter, but there's still a long way to go," Baldwin said. "The town is pursuing all efforts in the mitigation of these sites."